1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a printing apparatus, an electronic device, and a computer program. More specifically, the present invention relates to printing of print data stored in a removable medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when a printing apparatus performs printing based on an instruction from an information device that is not connected to a network, the information device and the printing apparatus can be mutually connected via a universal serial bus (USB) cable. In addition, a network cable can be temporarily connected to the information device so that the information device can communicate with the printing apparatus via the network. In addition, the information device can be connected to a wireless LAN so that the information device can communicate with the printing apparatus via the network.
The information device referenced above can be one of at least a desktop personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a “PC”) a notebook PC, or a mobile device such as a personal digital assistance (PDA).
In mutually connecting a desktop PC and a printing apparatus via a USB cable, if the printing apparatus and the desktop PC are positioned far from each other, the mutual connection between the desktop PC and the printing apparatus via the USB cable can be difficult to establish. In addition, in the case of connecting a notebook PC or a mobile device such as a PDA with a printing apparatus via a USB cable, a user typically needs to carry a USB cable with them at all times. Thus, portability of the mobile device is degraded. In addition, in some cases, a workspace for the mobile device to be placed around the printing apparatus cannot be secured.
In the case of temporarily connecting a network cable to an information device, setting(s) for the network can be complicated because the setting(s) needs to be performed differently depending on environmental conditions. A user typically needs to carry a network cable in this scenario, thus, the portability of a mobile device is degraded. In addition, as described above, in some cases, the workspace for the mobile device to be placed around the printing apparatus cannot be secured.
When connecting an information device to a wireless LAN, the setting(s) for the network can be complicated because the setting(s) needs to be performed differently for each different environment. In some instances, the environment under which the wireless LAN can be used is limited.
In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-138531 discusses a technique such that image data produced by an information device is stored on a removable USB memory, and the removable USB memory storing the image data is connected to a printing apparatus.
However, in the case of performing printing by connecting the removable USB memory to the printing apparatus, image data, as well as print data, having a format that is printable by the printing apparatus needs to be produced by the information device to write the image data onto the removable USB memory. More specifically, first, in the case of printing a document produced by an arbitrary application, the document is output from the application to a printer driver to produce an image data file. In this case, an output destination of the printer driver needs to be changed to a given folder by selecting “output to file”, instead of a port of the printing apparatus. Thus, the image data file produced by the printer driver is stored in an arbitrary folder in the information device that is selected as the output destination of the file. Then, the removable USB memory is connected to the information device to store the image data file stored in the given folder on the removable USB memory, usually via a user operation. As described above, in the conventional technique, there are a number of procedures a user must go through in order to print by connecting a removable USB memory to a printing apparatus. Inexperienced users typically find this very difficult and frustrating.